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Interstitial Saturation Event
In the dark days of E7Y17, near the end of the Phlogistonian Revolution, before anyone suspected that the Yellow Giant Citadel would fall, the Carthaginian army was advancing steadily toward Epiphany, destroying laboratories and factories as it went. The army dug in near the shore of the Angular Channel and began regular aerial attacks on Epiphany from this secure position. The capital was cut off, most of its defenses destroyed, and it seemed that Phlogistonia and its dazzling technology would be crushed under the heel of the Baptistes once and for all. But the invaders had overlooked a hidden underground bunker in which lay one of Phlogistonia's greatest secret weapons. Its use to defend the capital created what would become known as the Interstitial Saturation Event (ISE). It is a remarkable testament to Phlogistonia's restraint that this device was used as a last resort, and was never mobilized to attack Carthage directly. Effects In brief, the ISE called forth a massive quantity of free Phlogiston from Phenospace and concentrated it within all metallic objects in the vicinity. Any metal within about 10 km of the center was instantly vaporized. Explosions and rapid melting occurred within a 124 km radius, with the effects tapering away to abnormal heating and warping beyond that. A few days before the event, Phlogistonian civilians were warned via a secure channel of their WIT devices to avoid anything metal, but the army of Carthage was caught completely unawares. The Baptiste war machines and any people who happened to be inside or near them were reduced to unrecognizable heaps of waste. The ISE caused no direct harm to non-metallic materials, but was seen and felt by observers as far away as Greater Kenya. Accounts describe a blinding flare of light and a strange sensation “like electricity crawling all over one's skin.” Though the ISE had no immediately detectable effects beyond 250 km from its epicenter, it was shortly discovered that certain properties of metals had been permanently and globally altered by the event. Virtually all knowledge of metalworking had to be revised, and fabrication of anything very large out of metals became extremely impractical (though existing structures remained intact). Experiments in space have indicated that these curious alterations in the universe extend at least as far as Luna's orbit. Associated Heroism Two days before the weapon which produced the ISE was due to be used, it was discovered that a flaw in crucial stabilizing systems would prevent the weapon from being activated remotely. While most of the laboratory staff evacuated, C-E Lenora Truvian and two of her assistants remained behind to trigger the ISE, giving their lives for the freedom of Phlogistonia and its allies. The bunker was transformed into a sinkhole filled with slag, now preserved as a global historic site in the Angular Park region. Few realize that the character Marietta in the well-known opera ''Muero para Vivir* ''is based on Lenora Truvian. Understanding that Marietta's "lover" is in fact a metaphor for Phlogistonia lends a whole new dimension of richness to the opera. Expressed in stirring song and accompanied by a full complement of Bellowphones, her story is indeed a feast for the ears. * Translation: "I die in order to live." -- Ariane Vulpinia Citations Hungarian Bellowphone Luna Wireless Implanted Transceivers (WITs)